Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol - Film Review

One of the big money earners of the 2012 looks to be Mission: Impossible  Ghost Protocol, the fourth instalment of the Mission: Impossible feature film franchise. Mission: Impossible  Ghost Protocol is one of the few non 3D blockbuster films this season; however it instead follows another growing trend - the use of IMAX cameras.

Mission: Impossible  Ghost Protocol is the first live action feature film from Academy Award winning director Brad Bird, best known for the animated feature films Ratatouille, The Incredibles and The Iron Giant.

Mission: Impossible  Ghost Protocol has been a surprise hit with critics and audiences alike around the world, namely because it sees the franchise return to its roots. While Mission: Impossible III focused on the personal life on IMF Agent Ethan Hunt, Mission: Impossible  Ghost Protocol, as the title suggests, is about a black operation which sees Hunt lead his team in various international locations, including Moscow, Dubai and Mumbai.

Like Mission: Impossible III and the mysterious 'rabbit foot', the narrative of Mission: Impossible  Ghost Protocol is full of improbable twists and the mission is certainly no easy feat  Hunt and co are expected to stop global nuclear war.

A tightly written action thriller, Mission: Impossible  Ghost Protocol has a surprising amount of humour, thanks to Hunt's bumbling sidekick Benji Dunn, an IMF technical field agent (Simon Pegg) who was a minor character in Mission Impossible III. Also forming part of Hunt's team is the troubled Jane Carter (Paula Patton) and the mysterious William Brandt (Jeremy Renner), an IMF Secretary's chief analyst.

What makes Mission: Impossible  Ghost Protocol an exciting entry in the Mission: Impossible franchise is the action set pieces. One of the standout stunts involves an unlikely star; the Burj Khalifa - the tallest manmade structure in the world. In a dramatic sequence, which could only have been filmed with IMAX cameras, Hunt is forced to scale the building with little safety equipment. This is just one of the exhilarating highlights of Mission: Impossible  Ghost Protocol. Also unlike the previous Mission: Impossible films, Hunt has no romantic interest, which is a welcome change. Instead Mission: Impossible  Ghost Protocol sticks to depicting the very mission at hand. Another change to the Mission: Impossible franchise is the introduction of various gadgets and gizmos, making Hunt seem a little too similar to James Bond.

The only weakness of Mission: Impossible  Ghost Protocol is the third act of the feature film, which sees the team continue the mission in Mumbai; it feels like an excuse to see Hunt and his team in 'another' exotic location, but this is a minor quibble as Mission: Impossible  Ghost Protocol remains a smart action blockbuster.

Cruise, who produced Mission: Impossible  Ghost Protocol without Paula Wagner, knows what the audience wants; white knuckle action sequences set in exotic locations, likeable characters who the audience can identify with and humour, which is fresh and unexpected and Mission: Impossible  Ghost Protocol certainly delivers in this respect.

Mission: Impossible  Ghost Protocol is shameless fun entertainment and sees Cruise, who is now approaching age 50, back at the top of the box-office.